1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic verification systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to electronic verification systems for identifying human users.
2. Background Art
Human verification systems, such as CAPTCHAs, are well known in the art. Website portals, e-commerce sites, discussion forums, social networks, online games, public databases, and other applications often employ human verification systems to prevent the use of automated systems. Often, allowing unfettered access to automated systems or “bots” poses numerous problems, such as server overloading, inequitable access to resources, vulnerability to brute force attacks, and facilitation of abusive behavior such as spamming/unsolicited advertising, vote rigging, and spreading of malware. The use of effective human verification systems to limit interactions to verified humans helps to mitigate the ill effects from the above problems.
Ideally, to provide the most effective human verification system, the verification step should be easily solved by a human yet difficult for a machine to automatically process without the aid of human intelligence. Until recently, CAPTCHAs have been effective in that ideal, but automated systems have largely caught up to CAPTCHAs by employing advanced image recognition algorithms and data mining. In response, CAPTCHAs are becoming more obfuscated and complicated to deter these advanced automated systems.
Unfortunately, these defensive measures have also made CAPTCHAs more difficult for humans to solve as well. As a result, many users, when confronted with a difficult CAPTCHA, may become discouraged and decide to give up and go elsewhere. Furthermore, the increasing use of complicated English words and phrases without any helpful context may alienate and frustrate users having limited English skills. As a result, content and service providers stand to lose valuable user uptake and market share, particularly younger users lacking strong written language skills or users in non-English speaking cultures.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a human verification system that is simple for humans to solve across diverse age groups and cultures while still providing effective deterrence against automated systems.